People, Places, and Terms

Gilgamesh: The hero of the tale and an actual historical figure from 2700 bc; he was a king of the region known as UrukEnkidu: Created by Aru to tame down Gilgamesh's arrogance, becomes faithful companion and fights alongside himMesopotamia: A 'middle' region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, p. 6, See a map on p. 7Cunieform script: One of the earliest known forms of written language, developed in Sumer in the 300's BCPictographs: A symbol language where each symbol represents a concept or object. Ex: river, love, tree, friend...Tigris, Euphrates: Rivers in the Mesopotamian region, now Iraq, p. 6Epic: A tale focusing on the adventures of a larger-than-life hero who almost always is on a quest. p. 14Epic Hero: The focus of the Epic, a person who is strong, brave, loyal, and virtouos. Epic heroes, howeverr, often have a tragic flaw, such as Achilles' flaw of a temper. p. 14Heroic Quest: Epic heroes often set out on a dangerous journey to achieve or capture something of great value to his people. p. 15Divine Intervention: The cultures of the Ancient Era placed great importance on their worship. The majority of cultures practiced polytheism, or pantheism...the worship of many gods. The Hebrews practiced monotheism,the worship of one God. These cultures believed that their lives were often influenced by the gods, whether as a help or a hindrance.Humbaba: A monster who battles with Gilgamesh and EnkiduUruk: Important city in southern BabyloniaBabylonia: Ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia. p. 6Sumeria: common name for the city-states known as Sumer in MesopotamiaAruru: The goddess of mother and earthIshtar: The goddess of loveAnu: The god of the skyShamash: The Sun godPolytheism: Worship of more than one godMonotheism: Worship of one God p. 9, 12